Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
– The 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution
When I first heard Friday morning that journalist and former CNN anchor Don Lemon had been arrested and taken into federal custody for covering an anti-ICE protest in a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, my immediate thought was, "Uh-oh, here we go. Trump is going after the media big time now."
I don't think I'm wrong.
Lemon and another independent journalist, Georgia Fort of Minnesota, were indicted by a grand jury on charges of interrupting a religious service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where the pastor happens to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. More on that later.
Lemon and Fort were once co-workers at CNN from 2017-2023. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges and released on their own recognizance.
Lemon was charged with one count of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom and one count of violating the FACE Act for interfering with the exercise of religious freedom. The indictment says Lemon physically obstructed a pastor and intimidated congregants. It also claims he planned the protest.
(The FACE Act of 1994 is the acronym for the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances. It was enacted to prevent violent or threatening conduct that hinders access to reproductive health services or religious institutions).
If you've seen the video of Lemon in the church, it becomes obvious how flimsy the charges really are. Lemon, an independent journalist, followed a group of protestors into the church where the protestors interrupted a service. Lemon, clearly announcing he was not part of the protest but there only to cover it, began interviewing participants about what was happening.
He was practicing journalism, as per the 1st Amendment, asking legitimate questions and nothing more. He was hardly an agitator.
Another indication of how weak this case is, is the fact that United States Attorney General Pam Bondi went through two prosecutors who refused to press charges before finding one who would. Bondi, a minion of president Trump, isn't practicing law. She's practicing her boss' retribution campaign.
What has amazed me throughout this episode is how a certain percentage of the population is celebrating the arrest of Lemon. I don't get it. Without the freedom of the press, how are you going to be an informed voter? Who is going to seek accountability from those in office?
It's also amazing to me how many people are suddenly experts in journalism without ever having tracked down a story, dealt with uncooperative subjects, or faced pressurized deadlines. Just because a story may not align with your own agenda doesn't mean it was faulty or malicious journalism. It's probably more likely that you are not open to different perspectives.
In Trump's retribution campaign, there's other stuff going on. Lemon and Fort are both independent Black journalists, an easy target for the convicted felon president because those journalists don't have the legal resources of a large media firm behind them. It's following the anarchist's blueprint to chip away at the foundations of our democracy.
Nevertheless, Trump is still attacking the 1st Amendment here in his painfully obvious Project 2025 shift toward autocracy and fascism. Although the case appears to be flimsy at initial glance, it isn't really the point. Instead it's Trump sending a chilling message to all media that the Constitutional protection provided to journalists (journalism is the only profession actually named in the Constitution. See "of the press") might only be a chimera.
It's an attempt to stifle dissent.
It's a threat. On purpose.
• • •
When I learned that the pastor of Cities Church was also an ICE official, the first thing that went through my head was "how can that be?"
What church actually supports deportation? Christian Nationalists?
I'm the son of a Moravian minister. And while I've admittedly lapsed in my devotions and Daily Texts, I still lean on some of the things I was taught by my parents as well as by the church. And one of the things I remember is that Jesus taught us to welcome the stranger.
I'm not a Bible thumper, but you can read all about it in Matthew 25:31-45. It's the passage where Jesus, speaking from the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem, teaches that welcoming a stranger is equivalent to welcoming Him.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Jesus then admonishes those who did not feed and clothe the stranger.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."
And here's a kicker for you: Jesus was a refugee from Egypt as a child.
I suppose in Trump's America, Jesus – a laborer (carpenter) with brown skin who doesn't speak English, and thus who fits the ICE profile – would be asked for his papers and deported anyway.
I wonder what it is they teach at Cities Church?
No comments:
Post a Comment